


Wavemaker

by canadino



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22677253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canadino/pseuds/canadino
Summary: Tsumugi doesn't fuck the pool boy. But he comes close.
Relationships: Takatoo Tasuku/Tsukioka Tsumugi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 106





	Wavemaker

Tsumugi liked going to his grandmother’s house. He had a lot of fond memories, eating watermelon with his grandfather during the summer with the scent of mosquito coils in his nose. Although his grandfather had since passed, his grandmother continued living at the estate. It was tucked away enough from the suburban bustle that Tsumugi could hear himself think. Since retiring, his grandmother had upgraded the humble garden from a few seasonal blooms to practically every Japanese perennial that thrived in the region. It soothed Tsumugi’s soul to visit and see more color than he could fit in his modest city apartment. There was also a sizable pool that Tsumugi remembered splashing around in during the hotter summers, although it rarely saw much activity nowadays beyond his grandmother’s occasionally dips when she preferred a soothing swim to a hearty walk around the neighborhood. 

Yet on his current visit, it held much of Tsumugi’s interest. For his grandmother had since hired a pool boy. The pool boy - more of a man, and a handsome one at that - was awfully distracting. Tsumugi found it hard to concentrate on his lesson plans for his students or his work email. Instead, he was skulking around the garden wall closest to the pool, making care to stay hidden underneath the vines and sneaking peeks through the leaves. 

His grandmother had not told him about this new development. Ever the late riser, Tsumugi had woken in the late morning to the sound of splashing water. Looking out the window, he discovered a stranger in the yard, built with broad shoulders walking around the pool. His grandmother did not find it strange to have not mentioned it, choosing instead to tell him about her purchases at the local farmer’s market while he stared through the kitchen windows with a mouthful of barely chewed egg. After clearing up, he announced he wanted to take a lap around the garden and slipped on the quietest outdoor shoes to tiptoe through the foliage.

The pool man wore dark jeans and a tight shirt. Tsumugi noted the way the muscles in his arm were conveniently on display as the man bent down to take a sample of the water. Turned away, he could see the pool man’s wide back, narrowing at the waist. The pool man moved with purpose, as if familiar with being seen. He had presence, Tsumugi thought; when he wasn’t tending to pools, perhaps the pool man was comfortable in front of crowds or speaking with customers. Certainly the pool man would think nothing of introducing himself to a stranger, surely, instead of lurking behind some plants and barely remembering his name imagining how he might present himself. No, Tsumugi told himself. He was doing this for his grandmother. Older adults trusted easily, especially with good-looking, fit younger men who greeted them and diligently performed their tasks without being supervised. His grandmother was in the house, and there was nothing particularly valuable in the yard besides the flowers, but if the pool man was neglecting his duties then he did not deserve to be compensated generously by a kind older woman. 

As if sensing his ill intent, the pool man looked up and over at the garden. Tsumugi was fairly certain he was well hidden, wearing neutral colors that would not be eye-catching through the green, but he still scampered away all the same. Coming in through the patio doors, he met his grandmother on her way out. “Ah, just in time. Take this water out to the pool boy, won’t you?”

“Me?” Tsumugi squeaked. 

“There isn’t anyone else in this room besides you and me,” his grandmother said, puzzled. 

The pool man was more formidable up close. “Here,” Tsumugi said, proud of himself for keeping his voice so level and cool. The man was presently clearing the debris with a large net. He accepted the water graciously. He was not a man of many words. “Er...thank you for helping my grandmother. My grandfather liked the sea, so he wanted to be able to bring a bit of water to his home as well.”

“A job is a job,” the pool man said. 

“Right…” The pool man put the water down after a drink and continued sliding the net through the water. “I’m Tsumugi. It’s nice to meet you.” The pool man barely looked at him. 

“Takato,” the pool man said, when Tsumugi did not move and continued looking expectantly at him. “The pleasure is mine.” 

At moments like these, Tsumugi wondered if he was the reason he kept sparse company. He didn’t recall it being so difficult to maintain a conversation with his friends. “It’s...nice weather today, isn’t it?” The sun was shining and the sky was a clear, deep blue. “I live in the city, so I’m indoors quite often...it’s nice to just sit outside sometimes.” With a lack of anything to do with his hands, Tsumugi sank into the closest pool chair. Takato did not react much. It was awkward to perch on the edge of the chair, so Tsumugi settled in, bringing his legs up as he sat backwards. He should have brought his sunglasses; the glare against the surface of the water was bright and also it would have been easier to watch Takato the pool man without making it obvious. 

Takato pulled the net out of the water, shaking the wet leaves into a bag, and reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it clean off. He had abs for days. His chest was a bit shiny, having worked up a sweat from moving around and being in the sun. Tsumugi pressed his knees together and clenched his jaw. Takato tossed his shirt aside, letting it fall to the ground without a fuss and continued clearing the water. Tsumugi watched as he also cleared out the filters and drained the pool, brushing the sides of the pool and inspecting the drain. 

As the pool was filling back up, Takato rinsed his hands at the faucet on the side of the pool house. “Could you get me my shirt?” he called, turning off the spigot and wiping his hands on his jeans. Transfixed, Tsumugi stood up, picked up the shirt off the ground next to the pool, and walked over to the pool house. The shirt was still a little damp. 

“Here,” Tsumugi said. 

“We can fuck in the pool house, if you want,” Takato said. 

Tsumugi felt disciplined in letting his emotions show, but he couldn’t help his mouth falling open. Takato took the shirt back, his brow furrowing. “Oh, sorry. I thought with you watching me in the garden and just now, you were coming on to me. That was inappropriate. Please don’t tell your grandma.” 

“I...that’s not...that’s not the issue here…” Flustered, Tsumugi tried to gesture to explain why the proposition was so wild. He was just a normal guy, ordinary without any noteworthy features, so he didn’t get many propositions. Takato looked more worried now, patiently waiting for Tsumugi to continue his sentence. It was difficult to put it into words. Backtracking, literally, Tsumugi felt the heel of his foot hit the edge of the pool and he toppled in. The pool was half full, deep enough that he didn’t fall hard enough to hit the bottom, but Takato dove in after him anyway. 

“I can swim,” Tsumugi assured him, blinking the water from his eyes. Takato was standing in the pool, the water rising up to his chest, and he was holding Tsumugi close like a drowning child. 

“Oh.” 

“And...I mean, do you say that to anyone who’s interested?” Takato had not yet let him go. Tsumugi put a hand to his shoulder, unsure, and felt solid skin. 

“No. But I guess that’s not convincing.” Takato started bobbing them to the shallow end. “You’re interested?”

“Wha--my grandma’s in the house!”

“I’m not serious.” Tsumugi sputtered, as they stumbled onto the stairs adjusting with the change of weight with their drenched clothes. “It was a reckless spur of the moment for me...I was thinking what would be like to have...a tryst during work. It was a lapse of judgment.” Takato had not taken his hand from his waist, and Tsumugi found it hard to pull away. “Not...that I would be opposed to it if we weren’t...here. At your grandma’s house.” 

“It would be really weird to sleep with someone at your grandparents’ house!”

Takato nodded. “It would.” Tsumugi’s grandmother was rushing at them, towels in her arms, and they broke away naturally. Takato declined her offer to change clothes - neither she nor Tsumugi were really his size, even if he borrowed any - but he did agree to have lunch. He made no advance on Tsumugi during the meal, no under the table touching or hot, meaningful looks. Tsumugi decided he’d been too heavily influenced by the stories he’d heard from his students. 

After lunch, Takato loaded up his truck in the front of the house. Tsumugi’s grandmother had gone upstairs to look for her checkbook, and Tsumugi had been lingering in the doorway until Takato gazed back. Tsumugi approached the car as Takato reached through the driver’s seat window and rummaged around. 

“Here’s my card. The number is my personal. In case you want to meet...somewhere that’s not your relative’s house.” The card was a simple white thing with a dark back. Takato Tasuku was part of an acting company. There was not much more on the card besides a number and a short email address. Tsumugi turned it around and around in his hands. 

“Yeah. I mean, maybe.” When his grandmother came outside, he went back in, retreating to his room with his futon still laid out. His clothes, from when he fell in the pool, were hanging close to the window. The smell of chlorine was faint in the air. He would go weed, work up a decent sweat before going to wash the chlorine out of his hair. His grandmother wanted him to come along to have dinner with a friend. Afterwards, he’d figure out how to add Takato’s contact to his phone and send a message. What the message would be, he wasn’t sure of yet. 

After they worked in the garden, his grandmother proposed they go for a swim. The pool had just been cared for, after all. Tsumugi obliged.

**Author's Note:**

> I have many unfinished fics but as I was thinking about the pool event coming up, this popped into my mind and god help me if I don't entertain all ideas of Tsumugi being a sheltered rich boy ingenue trembling at the hands of rugged man Tasuku. I'm weak.


End file.
